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Chamber applauds suspension of PRA
The Cranbrook Chamber of Commerce has joined the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and chambers across the country in celebrating the federal government’s decision to halt the coming into force of the Private Right of Action (PRA) provision of Canada’s anti-spam legislation (CASL), noting that it would have hurt Canadian businesses.
The PRA was particularly worrisome as it would have exposed businesses to potentially unjust and costly litigation. The Private Right of Action Provision would have allowed individuals to take legal action against any company that sent them an email they did not want to receive, without proof of damages.
“This is a big win for all Canadians. Businesses rely on their capacity to communicate with their clients, and some of these measures would have limited their capacity to do this,” said Chris Botterill, Cranbrook Chamber of Commerce board chair. “Additionally, this provision would cost Canadians heavily in lost productivity and mischievous litigation.”
For years, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, of which the Cranbrook Chamber is an active participatory member, has lobbied on behalf of its members across Canada to convince the government to re-examine the CASL’s damaging impact on Canadian business.
“We applaud the government’s decision. And we are very supportive of the decision to ask Parliament to undertake a full review of the law,” said Hon. Perrin Beatty, President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
Additional information about CASL and the Private Right of Action Provision:
- CASL regulates the flow of e-commerce by requiring consent to send a commercial electronic message. However, the law goes far beyond what most would consider to be spam and includes business-to-business messages.
- Under the provisions, companies could be hit with $200 in statutory damages for each contravention, or perceived contravention, not exceeding $1,000,000 for each day.
- While the balance of CASL remains in force, the PRA was not scheduled to come into force until July 1 2017.
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